Last week I asked the readers of Kotaku to fire up their Nintendo Switch consoles and make some Mario levels. But keep them short and sweet. I got a bunch of entries and had a (mostly) great time playing them all.
But some of you seem to think I’m a much better Mario player than I really am. I can jump and spin and run, sure, but I’m no expert. Just keep that in mind. I don’t have to finish a level to like it enough to call it a winner, but I do sometimes run into levels that seem built more to frustrate and annoy than to have fun.
Anyways! If you want to play all the courses people submitted for the contest, you can check out my Mario Maker 2 profile where I liked all the levels that I played. This is probably the easiest way to play all these courses without having to enter in dozens of ID codes.
My Mario Maker 2 ID number: 2C7-40T-HXF
Now, below are some of my favorite courses and a short description of the course and what I liked about it.
Mario Learns To Fly | Dominik FFM | ST6-LN1-P1H
This is an auto-level with just enough skill that it still feels satisfying when you reach the end. Auto levels can sometimes be boring, but this one felt like I had to play it somewhat to reach the end, which I liked.
Morning Rush | Melanchoynarwhal | KJM-015-FLF
We’ve all been there. You are running late for work, you can’t find your keys and your basement is filled with deadly enemies and jumps. But Mario is a hard worker and doesn’t give up, even if his job is just like jumping on shit. Can you really be late for that?
Kotaku Short & Sweet | Impatientandy | Y2T-XTS-01G
This is such a cool idea that I hope this creator and others build upon this simple idea. It really felt like I was shrinking down, Ant-Man style, to reach the end of this level. Wonderful!
Ground Mole Day | Shweep | C3S-HBJ-XVG
Oh no! I totally forgot today was Ground Mole Day. I always forget and then I have to drive to the store and get a cheap card for my parents. Damn! Fun level though.
Short Stuff | D123 | VNC-6LF-X0H
Of all the levels I played for this contest, this was the shortest. I also like how it is set up to look like you are about to do normal level and then, boom, you hit an invisible block and reach the end. Truly short and sweet.
Leap Of Faith | Sogard | LGL-BGF-OWG
This is a Mario level that makes you feel like you are much more skilled than you actually are. Once you figure out the timing on the jumps it looks like you are a pro player. People around you will gasp and cheer as you effortlessly leap every obstacle.
Kaiju Mario Rampage | Rock N Roll Springtime, Take One | JHK-TBL-RXF
I always, ALWAYS, enjoy some mindless destruction. So getting to breakthrough buildings as a giant Mario is a perfect level for me. It would only be made better if I could smash some tiny people on the streets as they run from me.
One Of Everything | Based T | QJN-MD2-1WG
As the name implies, this level seems to be filled with one of everything in Mario Maker 2, at least in this theme. At first, I thought this would be a gimmick level, but it ended up being a lot of fun and a nice short course.
Kotaku Logo Run | Dogs With Villians Names | XHS-BXG-60H
This level made me feel like a speedrunner. You only have 10 seconds to collect 100 coins and finish. At first, it seemed impossible. But after a few attempts, I realized that with fast movements and practice I could beat the level. Finally beating it felt great.
Bullet Climb | Abhassl | J12-T21-NYF
A giant horde of bullet bills chasing you is scary, but once you realize how easy it is to jump on them and climb up towards the exit, this level became a fun scramble to reach the top. Sometimes the bullets would split up too much and I would fall back down, but I had a blast. Even when I failed.
If your level didn’t make it on to the featured list, don’t worry. There were too many to list them all and I had to limit the list.